


The Next Morning

by valis2



Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: Angst, First Time, M/M, PWP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-04-06
Updated: 2009-04-06
Packaged: 2017-10-07 22:55:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/70097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valis2/pseuds/valis2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The morning after the first night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Next Morning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tinx_r](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinx_r/gifts).



> This was a birthday present for Tinx_r.

Sunlight streamed in through the porthole, and Cody yawned and stretched. Rubbing his eyes, he twisted his legs off the bed, and promptly ran into the wall.

Blinking, he stared at it. _Why the hell am I in Nick's bunk?_ He blinked again, and then it all came back to him.

Last night. Drinking. Kissing. More than kissing.

For a moment he sat utterly still. _I can't believe I--I can't believe we--_

Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his hands over his eyes again. _I need a shower._

The hot rush of water was a welcome distraction at first. Cody let the heat wash over his face, banishing the last of the sleepiness. Grabbing the bar of soap, he began to briskly lather his chest, until he noticed a purpling mark.

_Nick likes to bite._ A strange mix of emotions raced through him, both excitement and disbelief, and he fingered the mark lightly, remembering the intensity of the night before. A drunken wrestling match. Nick's body against his. Nick's eyes, suddenly electric with desire, burning holes into Cody, and the frantic kiss that followed.

Cody had never been kissed like that before. Hard, fierce, possessive, like a lightning bolt striking his lips. Cody had surrendered to it, then fought back, grabbing Nick and pushing him to the floor, kissing him with everything he had, until Nick had rolled over on top of him and licked and bitten him, grinding their hips together and then doing things with his mouth that Cody had never even dreamed of.

He was getting hard just thinking about it.

Cody squirted shampoo into his palm and began to lather his hair, grinning like a fool. Where there was one hot night together, there had to be another, and he was beginning to see how delicious it could be, night after night stretching out before them. He imagined Nick writhing below him, muscles tense, moaning in desire, and it only made him harder.

Unless...

Cody frowned as his eye watered, stinging from shampoo. What would happen if this was a one-time thing?

_Maybe it should be,_ reasoned a little voice in his head. _You work together, play together...should you sleep together, too? What will happen if you see a pretty girl? What will happen if Nick sees a pretty girl?_

_What if this ends badly?_

His hard-on went away rapidly as he imagined having to watch Nick hold someone else's hand, or worse, know that he was making love to someone else. After feeling the white-hot intensity of Nick's desire once, Cody wanted it all to himself. He rinsed his hair again, his stomach suddenly doing flips, and the panic kept growing.

_Maybe it's for the best. Maybe we shouldn't be anything more than friends._

He thought of them going back to normal. Sleeping in separate bunks. Could he really be that close without wanting to touch Nick, without wanting to hear him gasp and moan and make all of those delicious sounds?

Or even just lie still and be held, like Nick had done afterwards? He'd never pegged Nick for a cuddler, but last night, he'd put his arms around Cody and fallen asleep holding him, and that...that had been wonderful. He blushed. _This is turning out to be one of the strangest days of my life. It has to be weird for Nick, too._

The thought of Nick retreating was like a physical ache in his chest. Cody ran some conditioner through his hair, barely paying attention, his mind racing with thoughts of how to adapt, how to deal with Nick pretending it hadn't happened. Rinsing out the conditioner, he turned the water off, leaning out of the shower and grabbing a towel. With each minute, he imagined something worse. Nick pushing him away. Nick moving out and never coming back. _Damn. I don't want him to leave. Maybe we _could_ just pretend it never happened._

That hurt. The ache in his heart grew stronger. He didn't _want_ to pretend it hadn't happened.

But what _did_ he want?

_Do I really want to wake up in Nick's arms the rest of my life?_ He almost laughed at how ridiculous it sounded, but then he grew serious. The thought wasn't frightening, not like other thoughts of commitment. It was vaguely...comforting. It seemed to take hold in his mind.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. None of this mattered, anyway, because Nick probably didn't want to wrap his arms around Cody for the rest of his life. Cody firmly put all thoughts of arms and wrapping out of his head, and got dressed. _Time to pay the piper._

Nick looked up when Cody entered the galley, grinning, but it faded quickly. "You okay, buddy?" he said, grabbing his elbow and steering him into the galley seat. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"We need to talk," said Cody.

Nick took off the apron he was wearing and slid in next to him. "Cody, you're kinda scaring me here," he said, tentatively touching his arm.

"Look, I know that you probably regret last night, and--"

"Regret?" asked Nick, the expression on his face one of complete disbelief. "Cody, look at me. Listen to me. I'll understand if you're regretting last night, but you gotta understand, I will _never_ regret it. I can't regret it." His hand gripped Cody's arm. "I've been wanting that for a long time." His eyes were intense.

"You have?" said Cody, in shock.

"I just never knew how to..." Nick shook his head. "Cody, I thought you weren't--that you didn't want that. I never wanted to...scare you. I mean, I always wanted us to be friends, and I thought..."

"How long have you wanted this?" whispered Cody.

"Years." Nick closed his eyes and exhaled.

"You never told me."

Nick reopened his eyes. "There was this one time you were out on the _Ebb Tide_...you took some kids waterskiing. And when you came back, you were in a great mood, and you told me you'd taken a turn out on the skis, and you were all wet and you were grinning and...I just couldn't stop staring at you. And I had to go take a cold shower."

"I had no idea."

"And I didn't want you to," said Nick emphatically. "It took months for me to get it under control. I was so scared that you'd see it in my eyes, and you'd...hate me for it."

"C'mon, Nick, I could never hate you." But deep down, Cody felt a twinge. _If we screw this up..._

"Last night, it was just--you were so damned close, and..." Nick reddened. "I couldn't stop it. And I can't regret it, now. If you regret it, I'm sorry. We can...I can try to pretend it never happened, I can try to go back to the way it was..." Nick's other hand was on the table, his knuckles white.

"I don't want to go back to the way it was," said Cody quietly. His heart felt like it was bursting out of his chest. _He doesn't regret it. He wanted it. He wants more._ It was unbelievable.

Nick looked at him, hope spilling over his face.

"I want to..." He swallowed heavily. "I want to try, Nick. I think it could be good. I mean, it's already good, and I think it could be great."

Nick's mouth moved, but no sound came out.

Cody put a hand up around the back of Nick's neck, just a gentle stroke, and leaned forward to kiss him. Nick was utterly still at first, trembling, and then he returned the kiss with more and more passion, making Cody's lips burn with the slow sensuality of it. He couldn't help but moan, feeling Nick's hand trace its way up to his collarbone. He broke the kiss first, gasping.

Nick's eyes were wide, dazed, and he looked so vulnerable and full of hope that Cody kissed him again, harder this time, delighting in Nick's soft whimper. Nick's tongue ran across his lower lip, setting off sparks, and Cody groaned.

"I think," said Nick, panting, "that breakfast can wait." He slid out of the seat, grabbing Cody's arm and then pressing him against the wall for another blistering kiss.

"Bed," they both said at the same time.

Cody followed him into their stateroom, pulling off his shirt and watching as Nick did the same. "Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time, tell me sooner," said Cody, watching as Nick unbuttoned his pants. "We could have been doing this for years."

"Sure," said Nick, drawing him close, his fingers working at Cody's fly, making him shiver. His eyes were intense, full of heat. "Love you. Gonna make you scream."

"Promise?" said Cody breathlessly.

"Oh yeah," said Nick, pulling down the zipper. "We've got all day."

Cody grinned. _And the rest of our lives._


End file.
